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Fireside Chat with Dr. Katie Brown, Founder & Chief Education Officer of EnGen
June 2, 2023 @ 9:30 am - 10:30 am PDT
Free
SUMMARY
Many of us would like our work to make an impact on people and change their lives for the better (beyond simply paying our bills). Dr. Katie Brown has been able to do just that. She has spent her career working on improving language education, both in the public sector and now in the private sector as the Founder & Chief Education Officer of EnGen.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dr. Katie Brown is the founder and Chief Education Officer of EnGen, a skills-focused, virtual English language learning platform for organizations and employers working with limited English proficient employees. A certified B Corp, EnGen is on a mission to empower immigrants, refugees, and speakers of other languages with the English skills they need for inclusion and economic mobility.
Under Dr. Brown’s leadership, EnGen has quickly become a leading provider of English language learning solutions. The company’s platform is used by thousands of adult learners around the world, and it has been recognized by organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Jobs for the Future.
For 25+ years, Katie has worked to improve outcomes for language learners around the world through large-scale initiatives at the intersection of higher ed and the public and private sectors. An expert in adult learning, education technology, and instructional design, Dr. Brown has a PhD in second language acquisition from the University of Maryland, and I’ve spent years evaluating commercially available language learning products.
Through both leadership and service, she has spearheaded award-winning language courses and authored multiple technology patents to deliver impactful, effective language training to millions of learners. She has seen firsthand that the ability to communicate in multiple languages can open up access and opportunity, and all of my work is centered around building models to achieve this in a scalable, sustainable way.
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION
- Dr. Brown’s career arc, from working on a farm in rural Virginia with migrant workers to getting multiple patents in language learning and enabling English learning at scale through the private sector.
- How Dr. Brown has balanced interests as an educator looking for the best outcome for students with being in the private sector with a need to serve shareholders and other funders.
- How Dr. Brown sees a collaboration between the private sector and public sector in providing better and broader education, which is a core public good in the modern world.
- How Dr. Brown has made the case for broadening access and funding for English learners and the reason why so few adult English learners in the US have access to English language education.
- The likely impact of LLMs and AI on education generally and particularly the teaching of English.
HOST
Adi Dehejia, Founder, Journey CxO